


Dreaming of a Blue and Green Christmas

by jenhedgehog



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, First Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 12:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17121569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenhedgehog/pseuds/jenhedgehog
Summary: "‘Twas the night before Christmas,When all through the barn,Not a creature was stirring,Everyone was calm....Well, not quite!"It's Peridot and Lapis Lazuli's first Christmas!  They throw themselves into this old earth tradition with much enthusiasm; but do they manage to grasp the true Christmas spirit...?





	Dreaming of a Blue and Green Christmas

_‘Twas the night before Christmas,_

_When all through the barn,_

_Not a creature was stirring,_

_Everyone was calm._

 

...Well, not quite!

 

“Lapis!” Peridot bellowed as she flung herself across the barn, “It’s still snowing!”

 

“Oh?”

 

Lapis turned around to see her delighted partner running towards her, arms outstretched.  The green Gem’s Christmas sweater was incredibly befitting for how excited she was.  The bright blue sweater, emblazoned with a very jolly-looking snowman, was a gift from Steven which Peridot had chosen herself.  Lapis, too, had a festive jumper, but hers was the perfect antithesis to Peridot’s gaudy clothing of choice – a simple, dark green sweater with the words Bah Humbug printed across it (in spite of the technician _insisting_ that it wasn’t “Christmassy enough”).

 

The Ocean Gem had just finishing hanging three stockings on the wall – one each for herself, Peridot and Pumpkin.  The barn mates had been researching the earth tradition of Christmas, and of course they decided to throw themselves into it completely.  The barn was now decorated for the holiday; the toilets had been pushed back against the wall and in front of them stood a small tree, which Peridot had decorated with ease thanks to her ferrokinesis.  Small garlands of tinsel were strewn around the place rather haphazardly and a small collection of Christmas cards had been tacked onto the wall.

 

Pumpkin bolted across the barn floor, proudly wearing a tiny Santa hat, and began to bark cautiously at the snow outside.

 

Peridot took Lapis’ hand, beaming at her, “C’mon Laz, take a look!”

 

Before Lapis could say a word, Peridot made for the barn entrance.  She peered outside before taking her first step into the fluffy white coating that now completely covered the ground, hand-in-hand with her partner.

 

“Wow,” Lapis gasped in awe, “It looks so _beautiful_.”

 

The sunset was beginning to take hold, washing the snow-covered surroundings with a cosy orange hue.  The two Gems stared on as the snow continued to fall thick and fast, each unique little snowflake glimmering faintly against the evening sky.

 

Peridot tightened her grip on Lapis’ hand slightly.

 

“Merry Christmas, Lapis,” she murmured with a smile.

 

Lapis smiled back at the technician, and leaned in for a kiss...

 

“ _Woof!  Woof!_ ”

 

Pumpkin suddenly came flying out of the barn at top speed, yapping loudly and almost colliding with her mamas in the process.  Lapis snorted with laughter as she watched the little veggie running round in circles, chasing her own tail in the snow.  She looked back at Peridot, who was glaring at Pumpkin for ruining the moment.  Lapis, however, quickly swooped back in for the kiss, taking Peridot by surprise and causing a distinct teal blush to appear across the technician’s cheeks.

 

In spite of the evening’s calming tranquillity, Peridot soon began to grow slightly fidgety.

 

“Lapis, we need to get back inside soon,” she announced, letting go of the Ocean Gem’s hand in order to gesture towards the barn, “Don’t forget about the gifts!  It’s _the_ most important part!”

 

During their Christmas research, Peridot had read about a certain man who brings gifts to all the good people of earth on Christmas night.  While Lapis had been slightly sceptical about the existence of such a man at first, Peridot had immediately and completely got on board with the idea.  Perhaps it was her materialistic nature at work, or maybe her unrelenting desire to be considered “great and lovable”, but the green Gem really wanted to believe in Santa Claus despite some aspects of his story defying logic...

 

“Oh gosh, you’re right,” Lapis replied, “We need to put our gifts for each other underneath the tree, too!”

 

Without wasting another moment, the pair of them made their way back inside the barn, with Pumpkin in hot pursuit.  Night-time was beginning to approach at an alarming rate – it was unsurprising, then, that Pumpkin immediately made her way to a small bundle of blankets underneath Lapis’ hammock as soon as she was indoors.  With an almighty yawn, the veggie snuggled herself into the blankets for the night.

 

“Goodnight, Pumpkin!” Peridot chirped, crouching down to give Pumpkin a small kiss; Lapis followed suit.

 

“And now for the gifts!” Peridot proclaimed excitedly, bounding towards one of the piles of meep-morps that was stacked against the barn wall.  After some rummaging, she returned to Lapis’ side brandishing a small, gift-wrapped package.  Beaming proudly, Peridot gently placed the gift underneath the tree.  Lapis grinned back at her partner before flying up into the barn rafters, returning with a very carefully wrapped rectangular package.  Peridot’s eyes lit up instantly.

 

“There!” Lapis said, putting the gift under the tree with the other one, “I guess we should put Pumpkin’s present here, too...”

 

“Yes, you’re--”

 

Before Peridot could complete the sentence, Lapis took off again; this time, she returned with a soft-looking package for Pumpkin, which was immediately placed under the tree.

 

The two Gems stood gazing at the tree and the little gift pile for a few moments, both smiling so happily.

 

“This is so _exciting_ , Lapis!” Peridot cried, hopping slightly on the spot.

 

“It’s going to be great!” Lapis replied, slightly more calmly than her soulmate, “But... don’t you think we should get some sleep soon?”

 

\---

 

Lapis soon fell asleep in the hammock, her snores reverberating around the otherwise-silent barn.  Pumpkin, too, was slumbering – but not Peridot.  The green Gem was pacing around frantically near the barn’s doorway, listening intently for any sign of Santa.

 

She paced, and paced, and paced, until...

 

“Good morning, Peridot!” Lapis called cheerfully from across the barn a few hours later, “Merry Christmas!”

 

No answer.

 

“Uh, Peridot...?”

 

Lapis peered out from the hammock, and was greeted with the sight of Peridot lying spread-eagle on the barn floor, staring up at the ceiling.

 

“ _Peridot_?!” Lapis cried, scrambling out of the hammock and racing over to her partner.

 

“He didn’t come, Lapis!” Peridot wailed in anguish, throwing her arms into the air, “Santa Claus, he’s _not_ real after all...”

 

“Oh no, Peridot...”

 

Lapis sat herself down next to Peridot, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

 

“You were right to doubt his existence, Lapis – I got carried away and... and...”

 

“It’s okay, Peridot, maybe he _is_ real and just forgot about us” Lapis tried to reassure the technician, before a gloomy realisation began to dawn on her, “Unless... he didn’t visit us because we really _are_ bad, after all.”

 

Lapis subconsciously moved her hand away from Peridot’s shoulder, folding her arms across her chest sadly.  The pair of them sat in stunned silence for a moment, but were brought back to reality by Pumpkin.  The veggie was nuzzling her mamas, trying to get their attention.

 

“Huh?  What is it, Pumpkin?” Peridot sighed as she slowly sat herself up.

 

The veggie began barking and ran across to the Christmas tree, wagging her tail next to the gifts that were sat underneath it.

 

“Oh my stars!” Peridot yelled, leaping onto her feet and startling Lapis in the process, “Our gifts for each other!”

 

Lapis looked over to the tree.  Sure enough, the three neatly wrapped parcels were still sitting there, waiting to be opened.  The blue Gem chuckled quietly as she watched Peridot sprint over to the tree.  Pumpkin was bouncing around and Peridot wasn’t far away from joining in with her.  The Ocean Gem walked over to them both.

 

“At least we still have each other, right?” Lapis said with a weak smile, “And all _this_.”

 

“Right!” Peridot replied, calming down now, “I mean, of course I’m upset that Santa _Clod_ decided not to visit us, but we can still exchange our own gifts, right?”

 

Without saying a word, Lapis scooped Peridot into a hug.

 

“Shall we?” Peridot asked.

 

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Lapis answered.

 

The pair of them broke from their embrace and sat down in front of the tree with an incredibly excited Pumpkin.

 

“Ok Pumpkin, this one is for you...” Peridot announced, reaching under the tree for the soft parcel.  Pumpkin yapped as Peridot put the gift down in front of her.  Lapis leaned over and began to take the paper off.

 

“Go on, Pumpkin, you can finish it now!” she told the veggie, who wasted absolutely no time at all – she grabbed the paper in her mouth and yanked it off, revealing a comfy-looking pet bed.

 

“Merry Christmas, Pumpkin!” the Ocean Gem said with a grin.  Pumpkin resumed her happy barking before dragging the bed along and placing it underneath the hammock with her blankets.

 

Peridot grinned at the veggie, before turning to Lapis.

 

“So... _this_ gift is for you, Lapis...”

 

Peridot dived back under the tree and grabbed the small rectangular package that she had kept hidden in the barn for the past few weeks.  She handed it to Lapis with a smile.

 

“I made it myself...” the technician announced, fidgeting a little as she watched Lapis taking the gift wrap off it, “I hope you like it...” 

 

“Oh, _Peridot_!” Lapis gasped, “This is beautiful!”

 

Lapis held up the small picture frame, which was very neatly decorated with an array of ornate seashells.  Inside the frame was a photograph of herself, Peridot and Pumpkin – the trio were smiling into the camera, the barn in the background.  It was one of Lapis’ favourite pictures, taken on a glorious summer’s morning by Peridot before they had headed to the beach for the day.

 

“Thank you...” she said, visibly touched by how thoughtful the gift was.

 

“You’re welcome!” Peridot responded with a huge smile, “We can hang it on the wall by the hammock, if you’d like.”

 

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Lapis replied, nodding her head in agreement.

 

The blue Gem carefully placed the frame onto the floor, “Ok, it’s your turn now, Peridot!”

 

The technician let out a very tiny squeak of excitement and clasped her hands together.  She watched intently as Lapis leaned over to grab the gift from under the tree and hand it to her.  Without wasting a second, Peridot tore the paper off – and gasped at what was inside.

 

It was a very thick book, the front cover decorated with an array of green aliens. 

 

“I made a start on it, but I thought that you might like to continue it...” Lapis explained.  Peridot flipped the book open – on the first page, Lapis had glued the ticket stubs from when she and Peridot went to see the _Camp Pining Hearts_ movie at Beach City’s theatre, along with a flier advertising the movie.

 

“It’s something that humans call a _scrapbook_ , where you can keep things that remind you of certain events or places...”

 

“Lapis, this is _great_!” Peridot cried, stars in her eyes, “I love it!  Thank you so much!”

 

She placed the book on the floor beside her and leapt over to Lapis, giving her a huge hug.

 

“Merry Christmas, Lap— _eeeek!_ ”

 

Peridot screeched in surprise at the loud noise that was suddenly blaring from her nearby tablet – an incoming call, from...

 

“Steven?!” both Gems exclaimed. 

 

Peridot raised her hand to summon the tablet to her, repositioning herself slightly so that she was sat snugly in the Ocean Gem’s lap.

 

“Merry Christmas!” Steven called out from the tablet screen, a festive hat sitting atop his head.

 

“Merry Christmas, Steven!” Lapis and Peridot replied in unison.

 

“Are you having a nice day?  What did Santa bring for you?!”

 

Peridot’s face fell instantly.  She looked at Lapis, who was also crestfallen.

 

“He didn’t bring us _anything_!” Peridot wailed, causing Steven to gasp.

 

“Oh my gosh!  Maybe he didn’t know that you were in the barn...”

 

“That’s what we hoped, but he’s a _clod_ if he thinks that we don’t deserve--”

 

“Hey now, Peridot,” a calming voice interjected, “That’s not what Christmas is all about!”

 

It was Greg, who was now standing behind Steven, peering into the camera with a soft smile.

 

“What... do you mean?” a bemused Peridot asked, her rage subsiding slightly.

 

“Christmas is for spending time with loved ones, for letting people know that you care about them,” Greg explained, “It’s... well, it’s the season to be _jolly_!”

 

“That’s true, Peridot,” Lapis said, “You told me about that when you were researching Christmas in the first place.  I guess that, maybe, we both got a bit too excited about Santa and forgot about it...”

 

“Well then, there you go!” Greg continued, “Santa probably doesn’t think that you’re bad, but maybe you’re just not really getting into the _true spirit_ of Christmas.  Why don’t you try spending the day being happy and spreading a little joy to each other!  Forget about the gifts for a little while and just let yourselves have fun, okay?”

 

“Um... Can we at least show you the presents that Lapis and I gave to each other?  And _then_ we can forget all about gifts?”

 

Steven and Greg both looked at each other and chuckled. 

 

“Sure, Peridot – let’s see them...”

 

\---

 

Once the call was over, Peridot and Lapis got to work!

 

They sat on the sofa together, under a huge fluffy blanket, watching the Christmas special of _Camp Pining Hearts_.  With the Ocean Gem’s help, Peridot had been able to make hot cocoa for them both, which they sipped carefully as they watched their show.  They also decided to build a snowman – which was incredibly easy thanks to Lapis’ water powers.  Peridot had insisted that the snowman wear her little red bowtie, much to Lapis’ amusement.

 

“Peridot, it’s way too small for him!” Lapis had protested through her laughter.

 

“No it’s not, Lapis!” Peridot yelled, waving her arms around, “He looks _smart_!”

 

In the meantime, Pumpkin had taken a liking to the snow, so Peridot and Lapis kept an eye on her as she played in it.  After a little while, Lapis had decided to swoop back inside the barn and fetch a blanket for Pumpkin in case the veggie got too cold.  Eventually, the blue Gem wrapped Pumpkin in the blanket and bundled her into bed, allowing her to take an afternoon nap.

 

As the day began to draw to a close, the family made their way back up to the sofa, which still sat in the truck that was embedded in the side of the barn.  From there, they huddled together and watched the sun set.  Pumpkin grew sleepy rather quickly, but Peridot and Lapis were still wide awake.  The pair of them snuggled together, each with an arm around the other’s shoulders, taking in the tranquillity that enveloped them in spite of the harsh cold.

 

“Lapis...” Peridot murmured, “even if Santa doesn’t come back to us, even if we’re... not considered to be _good_... today has been _very_ enjoyable!”

 

“I agree, it was a lot of fun,” Lapis replied with a grin, planting a small kiss on Peridot’s cheek, “I can’t wait to do it all again next year.”

 

“Neither can I!”

 

\---

 

As the night began to draw ever closer, Lapis settled herself into the hammock.  She took a moment to gaze at the photograph frame which was now hanging next to her, gently illuminated by the moonlight.  After placing a sleeping Pumpkin back into her bed, Peridot leapt into the hammock, almost causing Lapis to topple out.

 

“Oh my stars!  Sorry, Lapis...”

 

“It’s okay, Peridot,” the blue Gem chuckled, “Are you _actually_ going to get some sleep tonight?”

 

“I’m going to _try_ ,” Peridot replied, “Goodnight, Lapis!”

 

“Goodnight, Peridot...”

 

The pair of them fell asleep in no time at all – with Pumpkin snoozing soundly next to them.

 

Peridot was used to sleeping through Lapis’ snoring; it was part of the barn’s ambience, in a way.  She was, however, still easily disturbed by any _other_ noises that might ring out in the night...

 

Such as loud, crunching footsteps making their way towards the barn through the snow.

 

Peridot’s eyes pinged open.  She listened carefully, trying to figure out what was happening.

 

“ _Ho ho ho_!” a voice rang out from outside, causing Peridot to gasp loudly.  She covered her mouth and continued listening.

 

“Ho ho ho!” she clearly heard again.

 

“Lapis!  Lapis, he’s _here_!” Peridot screeched.  Lapis rubbed her eyes sleepily, sitting up with a groan.

 

“Peridot, what--”

 

“Santa’s outside, I can hear him, he came back!” the green Gem cried, “Quick, pretend to be asleep!”

 

“I wouldn’t need to _pretend_ if you had kept your voice down...” Lapis mumbled sarcastically, lying back down in the hammock with a chuckle and shutting her eyes.

 

“Oh, what have we here?” the voice continued, “It seems that I forgot Peridot, Lapis Lazuli and Pumpkin!”

 

“Are you _sure_ that’s Santa?” Lapis whispered, not daring to open her eyes, “He sounds like Greg...”

 

“Of course it is!” Peridot replied under her breath, “Why would _Greg_ be here?”

 

“I suppose so...”

 

The two Gems lay in silence, listening to the heavy footsteps of somebody making their way through the snow towards the barn.  Peridot opened one eye slightly to peek outside and had to hold in another gasp - she could see what appeared to be a reindeer standing in the snow!

 

“ _How odd..._ ” she thought to herself, “ _I thought that reindeer were supposed to be brown, not purple... perhaps it’s just the light..._ ”

 

Before she could process this for too long, she was taken aback by a tall, red-suited figure entering the barn.  She snapped her eyes tightly shut once more.

 

Peridot and Lapis listened to the sounds of someone walking across the barn floor and rummaging through a bag.  After what felt like an eternity, the man made his way back to the entrance of the barn.  The crunching, snowy footsteps continued for a few moments before everything fell silent.

 

Peridot was the first to open her eyes – she immediately looked over to the stockings on the wall, and fell out of the hammock in excitement when she realised that they were now full.

 

“Lapis!  Look!” Peridot cried, pointing towards them.

 

“Oh, wow!” Lapis gasped, “I can’t believe it!”

 

Peridot raced across to the stockings and carefully took hers from the wall.  She put her hand inside and, with a delighted grin, pulled out a small alien plush and a _Camp Pining Hearts_ scarf.  Lapis quickly joined her, finding a shark plush and a packet of her favourite candies inside her stocking.

 

“This is _amazing_ , Lapis!” Peridot yelled, dancing on the spot and making so much noise that Pumpkin woke up.  The veggie bounded over to her mamas, tail wagging.  Lapis quickly took Pumpkin’s stocking and looked inside – finding a bag of dog treats and a chew toy shaped like a penguin.

 

“Look, Pumpkin – he brought some gifts for you, too!” Lapis told the excited veggie. 

 

Both Peridot and Lapis felt a sense of relief.  They had, as Greg suggested, managed to find the true spirit of Christmas after all; even without these surprise gifts from “Santa”, they would have enjoyed the day immensely.  But to both of them, it felt symbolic.  After all, Santa Claus only visits the _good_ people of earth on Christmas night.  For two Gems with pasts as messy as those belonging to Lapis and Peridot, it was the most wonderful feeling to have something so very important reiterated to them.  Something that everyone deserves to know, especially those who find it very difficult to believe at times...

 

“Peridot, we... we’re _not_ bad, after all...” 

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone!
> 
> This is my longest ever oneshot fic. I know that holidays such as Christmas don't exist in the world of Steven Universe, but I wrote this as a fun little "what-if"!
> 
> This fic is actually my Christmas gift to the Lapidot community :) You're all the most amazing bunch of people, and I hope you have an incredible holiday season and a very happy 2019!


End file.
